Songbird appeared in the 1979 Marvel Comics called Marvel Two-In-One.
Melissa Gold was a troubled runaway from an alcoholic father and incarcerated mother. In order to survive on the streets, Melissa developed a hard edge to her personality, referring to herself as "Mimi." She eventually found work as a costumed professional wrestler, taking the stage name Screaming Mimi, and joined the wrestling team known as the Grapplers. Melissa's original Screaming Mimi costume was provided by The Tailor and his Rogues Gallery Costumes.
The Grapplers became renowned for their colorful personalities and ringside antics, but the wrestling federation denied them the opportunity to make the same amount of money their male counterparts made. Thundra was pitted against the Grapplers including Screaming Mimi, all of whom, except Titania, she managed to defeat easily. The group agreed to earn supplementary income by performing a covert operation for the Roxxon Oil Company and were given special paraphernalia to assist them in their mission. The mission failed due to the hero Quasar, and the Grapplers were tried and jailed for their misdeeds.
Sent to Ryker's Island prison, the Grapplers encountered and fought Dazzler, but were defeated when Screaming Mimi let loose her voice, increasing Dazzler's powers. When the Grapplers were finally paroled, they discovered that the woman's wrestling movement had lost its momentum without them, so they continued to perform crimes to support themselves. When Ben Grimm was in the hospital the Grapplers were one of his many visitors.
Later, the Grapplers set their sights on a woman's division of the super-powered Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. Their manager, Auntie Freeze, arranged for the women to augment their artificial powers with natural ones created by the agency Power Broker, Inc. The all-new Grapplers made a legitimate professional comeback that proved short-lived. The team dissolved when two of their members, Titania and Letha, were killed by the vigilante Scourge.
Melissa was later contacted by the criminal Baron Zemo to join his version of the Masters of Evil. Her first assignment was to help free the female Yellowjacket out of prison, but Melissa was captured in the subsequent battle with the heroes Wasp and Paladin.
Later, she formed a romantic and criminal partnership with the similarly-empowered Angar the Screamer, at one point battling the Avengers couple, Hawkeye and Mockingbird.
Mimi joined the Femizons and their goal to conquer Earth and create a utopia where women ruled over men. Led by Superia, the group was composed of several established female criminals and super-villainesses. However the group's plans were stopped by Captain America.
Powers and Abilities[]
Melissa possesses various superhuman attributes as a result of undergoing the Power Broker augmentation treatment, enhancement of her vocal cords by Roxxon technicians, and voice augmenting implants and harness by the Fixer.
- Acoustikinesis: After burning out her original vocal sound-based abilities, Melissa was given a set of vocal cord implants and an external harness that allowed her to produce a number of effects. She can generate powerful sonic blasts, sonic force-fields, and can even create solid objects created from sound including battering rams, pincers and platforms. Melissa can also generate high pitched sonic vibrations that are subtle enough to avoid her being consciously detected by others and, thereby, allowing her to influence the actions of others.
- Flight: By creating wings out of pure sound energy, Melissa can propel herself through the air at great speeds; most likely supersonic at the speeds of sound.
- Superhuman Strength: After undergoing the treatment, Melissa's musculature, skeletal structure, and connective tissues were drastically strengthened and augmented. As a result, she was granted superhuman strength. At her highest peak of strength and power, Melissa possesses sufficient strength to lift about 2 tons.
- Superhuman Speed: The superior energy output and force of her muscles enables Melissa to run and move at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Stamina: Melissa's muscles are more efficient than those of an ordinary human. As a result, they produce less fatigue toxins during physical activity than those of normal humans. At her peak, she can exert herself for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in her bloodstream begins to impair her.
- Superhuman Durability: Melissa's bodily tissues are tougher and more resistant to some forms of physical injury than those of a normal human. Melissa's body is able to withstand great impact and blunt force trauma. She can withstand impacts, such as falling from several stories or being repeatedly struck with superhuman force, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little or no injury to herself.
- Superhuman Agility: Melissa's agility, balance and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Melissa's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
- Skilled Combatant: Melissa has extensive training in hand to hand combat, particularly wrestling. Although she burned out her original vocal cord powers, Gold still has her superhuman physical attributes, which makes her a much more effective hand to hand combatant.